Fervent: Prayer Strategy for Your Relationships

Hi friends!

Have you put together your prayer strategy for your hurts? I hope so! This week we are moving on to the last Prayer Strategy, number ten, your relationships! If you've been waiting for this post, I'm so sorry for the delay. It's been a little wild around here with the Christmas shopping season! If you're just joining us, come on in! We're working through the book, Fervent by Priscilla Shirer. If you want to purchase the book you can do so through this affiliate link by clicking here. (This post contains an affiliate link, which provides me with a small compensation when you purchase your book through my link. Thank you so much for supporting my small business!)

How would you define a relationship? According to the dictionary, a relationship is the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. It is also the way in which two or more people or organizations regard and behave toward each other. We all have a variety of relationships in our life....spouse, parents, siblings, children, coworkers, friends, etc. All of these relationships play a huge part in all of our lives! Every single day we're interacting and communicating with others. So why is creating a prayer strategy for our relationships so important?

If I were your enemy, I’d work to create division between you and other Christians, between groups of Christians, anyone with the potential for uniting in battle against me and my plans. I’d keep you operating individually, not seeing your need for the church or tying yourself too closely to its mission. Strength in numbers and unity of purpose...I would not allow things like these to go unchecked. 

— Fervent by Priscilla Shirer

I think this last chapter of the book, this last prayer strategy, is so important for all of us. Not only in our personal lives, but on a global scale as well. We live in a fallen world and there is chaos and destruction happening in every direction you look.. Disagreements tend to escalate quickly as people flock to social media to give their own two cents, spewing words of hate without hesitation. It's kind of exhausting isn't it? And don't you just wish we could all get along? As Priscilla mentions in the book, " We must stand against all forms of disharmony in our relationships and battle for oneness among ourselves and all of God's people. We owe it to the Lord, and we owe it to one another. The gospel we share in common is meant to continue to be shared together, both the giving and receiving of grace, inspiring each of us to pure living and spiritual fervency so the gospel can shine outward to others through our loving, enriching relationships." This is why praying for our relationships is so important, friend.

When there is unity among us, when we are all fighting the same fight, we are a force to be reckoned with. And the enemy knows it. That is why he is constantly trying to create chaos, cause conflict, and hinder relationships. He knows that if he can split the body of Christ apart, that he can cause chaos, confusion, and misunderstanding amongst us, hindering our relationships with God. Priscilla said in the book that if we are not praying for oneness - seriously, specifically, strategically - we're leaving our hopes for togetherness to the fickle weather patterns of emotion, misunderstanding, and imposed pressure from outside sources and circumstances. Y'all, apart from God, we are bound to chaos and disunity. But God wants us to live in peace; God is peace. Romans 5:1 (ESV) says, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Whatever lack of peace you or I might feel with God, and whenever we might feel it, it’s always coming from a source that is NOT God because He has already blown down every door that keeps us from experiencing total peace with Him. 

— Fervent by Priscilla Shirer

Relationships don't come easy; regardless of the type of relationship that comes to mind for you. Maybe it's a sibling, a spouse, a fragile friendship, or disagreement among church members. Whatever it is, it takes hard work to keep a family united, make a marriage work, make a friendship last, and make a church flourish. But more than hard work, it takes fervent prayer. We've got to commit to calling out to God in prayer; praying for unity, peace, understanding, love, grace, and forgiveness for one another.

When my husband, Merrill, and I were engaged, we took a marriage 101 class through our church. And the key concept of that class was that in our marriage we must keep God at the center, with the two of us always working to move closer to God and closer together. To give you a little word picture here... our marriage should resemble a triangle....with God at the top, and the two of us always working to grow closer to God. And as both grow closer to God, we grow closer together as we move up the sides of the triangle. Isn't that good?! Reading through this chapter on peace and unity in relationships reminded me of that, and I think that's a pretty good way to look at all relationships in our lives. Whatever relationship it is, keep God at the center. Chase after God, pursue a heart like His. It might not make mending or maintaining that relationship easy, but it will certainly help us see those relationships through God's eyes, and helps us have a heart like His. A heart full of love, and grace, and forgiveness.

Are you ready to pray fervently and create a prayer strategy for peace in your relationships? To get started, here are some scriptures you might consider adding to your prayer strategy! If you're following along in the book you can find these scriptures, plus more, on pages 179-181.

We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. Eph. 4:14

Let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 1 John 3:18

Let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this - not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. Romans 14:13

Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25

As I mentioned before, I'll be sharing my prayers with you to serve as inspiration as you work to craft your very own! Here is the prayer strategy I wrote in my war binder, for my hurts.

I'm praying for you as you work to craft a prayer for peace in your relationships! I'll be looking into options for our next book/bible study in January! If you have one you would love to work through, please let me know! Wishing each of you a wonderful Christmas!

Rooted in the love of Jesus, Kayla

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